Opera Scotland

Carl Rosa exhibition

Posted 6 Oct 2016

The Carl Rosa Opera Company was the most important touring company of its time. Travelling from its Liverpool base throughout the British Isles, Carl Rosa had a major influence on Scottish cultural life for over eighty years.

The welcome news is that on Saturday 19 November, there is to be the opening of an exhibition and a lecture/recital at the home of the archive in Liverpool's great Central Library at 2.15pm. featuring performances by music students from Liverpool Hope University. It will be open to the public until 23 December 2016.

The exhibition will be opened to the public in the afternoon and features material from the Carl Rosa Archive. This is a substantial repository of unique material of international importance. Encapsulating over 150 years of British operatic history it holds scores and orchestral sets for over 100 operas and other musical works performed by the Company during its touring days. This even includes manuscript orchestral sets used on tours of the USA during the 1860s.

The Carl Rosa Archive is also home to a collection of photographs, programmes and business papers as well as sets of older performing materials, such as parts for Balfe operas from the 1830s–1840s, and historic editions of Mozart operas used at Covent Garden in the 1820s.